Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions: Inflation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2022 to Question 18980 on Pensions: Inflation, what her Department's timetable is for paying benefits in line with Consumer Prices Index inflation.

Victoria Prentis: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of State pensions and benefits. The outcome of that review will be announced later this year, and the new rates will enter into force from 10 April 2023.

Payment Exception Service

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the maximum payment amount that can be collected in a single transaction using the Payment Exception Service at a Post Office or pay point outlet is set at £100 requiring some claimants to make multiple transactions to access the full amount of their benefits or pension.

Victoria Prentis: The most secure way to receive payment is through a bank account. For those customers who are unable to open or manage a bank, building society or credit union account, the DWP’s new Payment Exception Service has been designed as a simple service to ensure customers have access to cash. Vouchers are uploaded to a card or sent electronically via SMS text or email. A customer can print their emailed vouchers and present them to the retailer. The maximum amount of a voucher is £100 so a customer may receive more than one voucher on their payment due date. Customers must cash the full amount of the voucher but do not have to cash all of their vouchers at the same time. This is a similar process to when customers used to be issued with Order Books and Girocheques. Payment Exception Service vouchers can be encashed at over 26,000 PayPoint outlets nationally as well as Post Offices nationwide. The service provided by this contract meets DWP’s statutory requirement to ensure all customers can access payments, including where standard banking is not available to them. The £100 voucher amount represents a value that protects vulnerable customers from being required to withdraw and carry large sums and is one that the PayPoint Retailer network can support.

Pensioners: Newport West

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of rising energy costs on pensioners in Newport West constituency; and if she will meet the hon. Member for that constituency at the earliest opportunity to discuss that matter.

Victoria Prentis: The Government announced on 26 May a cost-of-living package which included a pensioner cost of living payment of £300 per household to be paid alongside the winter fuel payment this coming winter increasing the amount to £500/£600 depending on age. Once added to the non-repayable £400 discount on energy bills this autumn for domestic electricity customers this will result in all pensioners households in Great Britain receiving £900 for households with someone of state pension age and under 80 and £1,000 for households with someone aged 80 or over to help with increased fuel costs. Cold Weather Payments are also available to help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit. Those eligible will continue to automatically receive £25 when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days. In winter 2022/23, the Warm Home Discount Scheme has been extended to provide a £150 rebate on energy bills to around 3 million households. Around one million households on Pension Credit guarantee credit will receive a rebate each winter, and the majority will receive their rebate automatically, without the need to claim.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on support for people represented by the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

Victoria Prentis: State Pensions age issues have been debated extensively in the House over many years. There have been no recent Cabinet conversations relating to support for people represented by the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support UK pensioners living overseas in countries without a reciprocal uprating agreement with the UK.

Victoria Prentis: The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s national insurance record. State Pensions are up-rated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. There is information available in leaflets and on GOV.UK on how to claim State Pension from overseas and on what the effect of going abroad will be on a person’s UK State Pension.

State Retirement Pensions: Commonwealth

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of her Department's policy not to uprate annually pensions in 48 commonwealth countries with the Government’s Global Britain vision.

Victoria Prentis: The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is up-rated annually in countries where there is a legal requirement to do so. This is a longstanding policy, which has been supported by successive governments for over 70 years. The Government has no plans to change the policy.

Social Security: Canada

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the viability of Canada’s recent request to discuss a reciprocal social security agreement with the UK.

Victoria Prentis: There are two separate social security arrangements in place between the UK and Canada, made in 1995 and 1998. The UK Government has no plans to change the social security relationship with Canada.

Attendance Allowance

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying the Attendance Allowance claim form.

Victoria Prentis: All DWP claim forms are under continuous review, using insight from DWP colleagues and external customer groups such as Age UK. Recent improvements have included changes to questions around Power of Attorneys and falls/stumbles.

Winter Fuel Payment

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of revising the eligibility date of 25 September 1956 to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.

Victoria Prentis: There are no plans to change the qualifying criteria for Winter Fuel Payments at this time. Winter fuel payments are an age-related payment made to those who have reached state pension age. For winter 2022/23 a person has to have reached State Pension age (which means a person must be born on or before 25 September 1956) on or before the end of the September qualifying week.

Pension Protection Fund

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the increase in the (a) Bank of England interest rate and (b) rate of inflation on the value of (i) the Pension Protection Fund and (ii) payments made from it over the last 12 months.

Victoria Prentis: The information required to carry out such an assessment is not readily available and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs. The Secretary of State has therefore made no such assessment and does not intend to do so at this time.

Pension Protection Fund

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum annual increase to payments made from the Pension Protection Fund above 2.5 per cent on a (a) temporary and (b) permanent basis.

Victoria Prentis: While all legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to review the legislation relating to the indexation of payments from the Pension Protection Fund and the Secretary of State has made no such assessment at this time.

Pension Protection Fund

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which organisations her Department has (a) received representations from and (b) held discussions with regarding the 2.5 per cent limit on the annual rise in Pension Protection Fund payments in the last 12 months.

Victoria Prentis: In May of this year, the Secretary of State received representations from the Prospect trade union in respect of the indexation of payments from the Pension Protection Fund although no discussions have been held with organisations regarding this matter in the last 12 months.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to provide women affected by changes to State Pension age with compensation.

Victoria Prentis: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into communication of changes to women’s state pension is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”. It would be inappropriate to comment on these issues whilst the investigation is ongoing.

Pension Credit

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that applications for Pension Credit are processed in a timely manner.

Victoria Prentis: The success of the recent Pension Credit campaign together with the Cost of Living Crisis is driving the volume of Pension Credit claims being submitted to an all time high.Additional resources are being deployed to ensure we deal with the increase as quickly as possible. We are also working closely with stakeholders and service providers to identifypotential process enhancements that will drive efficiency and reduce processing times.Successful claims and arrears are backdated and paid accordingly, to ensure those who are entitled do not miss out.

State Retirement Pensions: Canada

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the recent incident on UK pensions living in Canada where their state pensions were suspended.

Victoria Prentis: We understand that some customers in Canada did not receive life certificate forms sent to them by the Department. Our outbound postal supplier has confirmed that the life certificates were issued and dispatched from the UK. In line with the process for all overseas state pension recipients, the Department suspended payment for those customers who did not return their form within the 16-week window. After being alerted to the failure to deliver within Canada, we reinstated all suspended payments and issued any arrears owed. We have also extended the time period for Canadian customers to return their life certificate forms, having confirmed that certificates are now being delivered.